Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Dizzyland

Years ago, I had this desire to own a pickup truck, specifically a Ford, F-150. This would have been my passport to Adventure-Land, as I thought of all the stuff I could move in my F-150. Now granted, I wasn’t planning on moving around multiple bags of concrete mix, but it would have been nice to transport that large volume of pea-gravel instead of paying to have it delivered. This dream of mine was well before this present EV craze. BTW, I never did get my F-150, but I will survive.

Nonetheless, at the beginning of this Tomorrow-Land craze to make every vehicle an Electric Vehicle (EV), I think that it’s important to point out some warnings as why this will never come to fruition. The latest part of this Fantasy-Land is to mandate that all trucks be EV trucks, and this includes pickup trucks.

From the Epoch Times:

The range of electric vehicles can fall by up to a quarter when made to carry heavy loads, according to a study conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA) on Ford’s EV pickup truck F-150 Lightning.

In an unloaded state, the 2022 Lightning had a driving range of 278 miles. However, with a payload of 1,400 pounds, the driving range dropped to 210 miles, a decline of 68 miles or 24.5 percent from the unloaded range, according to the June 13 study. Such payloads are equivalent to hauling around 20 bags of concrete mix. AAA advised that prospective buyers of EVs who are likely to carry heavy loads regularly should “consider the impact this can have to their driving range.”

Now granted, most buyers will typically use the Lightning F-150 with a lighter load. As such, even though there will still be a range reduction, it will be lower than the reduction at maximum load, as Greg Brannon, director of AAA Automotive Engineering, pointed out 

EVs not only lose range when carrying heavy loads, but they also lose range during winter conditions. In December 2022, EV insight firm Recurrent published research on range loss among electric vehicles during freezing conditions, finding that the loss of range can go up to 35 percent.

Comparing 13 popular EV models in freezing versus 70 degrees Fahrenheit temperature, Recurrent found that Volkswagen ID.4, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Chevy Bolt all lost 30 percent or more range in colder conditions.

The Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Model Y lost between 15 and 19 percent of their range, depending on the model.

So as we move into the Frontierland of this nonsensical EV mania, I guess we will just have to forgo thoughts on any winter heavy construction, or get used to a multitude of abandoned F-150s on the roads leading to potential construction sites!

6/20/23

californiacontrarian

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